


The Haunted Sword

by Rosencrantz



Series: Ghost Stories - Fandom [1]
Category: Howl Series - Diana Wynne Jones
Genre: Assassins & Hitmen, Gen, Haunting, Magic, Misses Clause Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-19
Updated: 2013-12-19
Packaged: 2018-01-05 04:35:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1089677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosencrantz/pseuds/Rosencrantz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A bevy of assassins, a haunted sword, and Peter being a pest is all Charmain needs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Haunted Sword

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Laurea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laurea/gifts).



> Thank you to my army of betas: [Dreamiflame](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamiflame), [Whetherwoman](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Whetherwoman), [specialrhino](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Specialrhino), and Hina. 
> 
> Brush used for separators made by [Lyotta](http://lyotta.deviantart.com/).
> 
> My prompt was: I'd like to see the ladies interacting and just being their awesome selves.

When Charmain saw the sword again, it was on a table in the royal library. She was going over, for the third time, Peter's timing for his grand entrance to the party the next day. It was his official coming out as heir to High Norland, and Charmain was getting a headache with his insistence on trying to improve her and Great Uncle William's plans.

"I'm just suggesting," said Peter in a tone that meant he was not suggesting but was actually insisting, "that maybe we could have fireworks instead of the anthem. It's an easy spell, Charmain."

Charmain had no patience for false smiles, and certainly not with giving them to Peter. She glowered at him. "After the anthem, it's time for you to mingle and then my job is done."

"You're being lazy," said Peter.

"You're micromanaging," she shot back.

They glared at each other. The sudden sound of metal sliding on wood caught their attention. They whipped their heads around. The sword on the table had somehow moved a foot to the left.

"Must be uneven," said Peter with a frown. "Why did you bring a sword?"

"I didn't," said Charmain. "I thought you'd put it there."

"Isn't that the sword I saw you and Wizard Norland looking at in the kitchen the other day?" Peter said.

Charmain nodded. "Maybe he brought it here. I'll just..." She reached over to pick it up and felt a great chill on her hand before she even touched it. She pulled her hand back hastily. "I'll let him fetch it again himself. He must have had a reason to bring it here."

The sword in question was an object of great interest to Charmain's Great Uncle William, having been found alone in a storage room when he and Charmain were exploring parts of his house still unmapped. As there had been no warning signs around the sword, he'd decided to bring it back for study.

The sword itself was plain, except for three pieces of inlaid jet, and a long cloth tassel hung from the hilt, blue with darker blue stripes on one side. Charmain felt it couldn't be magical if it was that boring to look at. Waif, Charmain's personal guide to danger, barely gave the sword a passing glance, and so Charmain gave it the same regard. But Great Uncle William was convinced there was something to it, so they studied it in their spare time, putting it through a battery of magic tests.

Peter looked ready to call Charmain lazy for leaving the sword, so Charmain switched the subject.

"Nervous about your party?" she said. "It's a bit like you're a debutante."

Peter rubbed his forehead. "Don't call me that. It's just a bunch of... Mother is going to be there."

Suddenly the reason why Peter was so invested in making it bigger and better made sense in Charmain's head.

"You know, she'll be more impressed if you don't even go," she said. "I've heard her talk about snobbery."

"Yeeees," said Peter, "but I think that would go over even worse in the long run."

"Well," said Charmain, and patted Peter on the shoulder. "Just do as Wizard Norland and I have set up and everything will be just fine."

Before Peter could get back into telling her how to improve the ceremony, she made a quick escape. Charmain was barely out the library doors when Princess Hilda spotted her and called her over.

"Charming! I must make an introduction," Princess Hilda said in her most formal tones, which were of such quality that Charmain stood straighter and wished desperately she had a mirror to check her face in.

Princess Hilda waved Charmain to follow and together they walked to the tea room. Inside were two women. One of them was the most beautiful woman Charmain had ever seen, and the other one was--

"Sophie!" said Charmain happily. "I didn't know you were coming!"

"It's good to visit places when they're _not_ having a crisis," said Sophie with a little grin.

"Ahem," said Princess Hilda and Charmain snapped back to attention. "It pleases us to introduce you to Princess Flower-in-the-Night, Ambassador to Ingary."

The beautiful woman nodded politely and stood up, bowing with perfect poise to Charmain.

"It is our humblest pleasure to meet you, oh student of wondrous magics," she said.

Charmain bowed back, not nearly as gracefully as Flower-in-the-Night. "Thank you," she said quickly.

"Princess Flower-in-the-Night is an old friend," said Princess Hilda. "We were once kidnapped by a djinn together."

"A most excellent way to bond," said Flower-in-the-Night.

Princess Hilda smiled regally at Flower-in-the-Night. "A woman who had brought a djinn to its knees with well-placed words is a fine friend to have."

"Sit and join us?" asked Sophie. "Unless Wizard Norland needs you, of course."

"I'm free for now," said Charmain as she sat in the softest chair and sank down, which was the fate of using that chair. She wanted to hear about this djinn.

The princesses chatted, catching up on what had happened since they'd last seen each other, and Charmain listened avidly. It seemed Flower-in-the-Night had been to a great many different countries, some more foreign than anything Charmain had ever read in her books. Countries where the cities were kept underwater, countries where the palaces were made of crystal, and one Charmain found herself longing to visit, where the houses and roads were high up in the tops of enormous trees.

The conversation gradually turned to the topic of Peter's coming out.

"About one of the guests," began Sophie. "Queen Sonya? Queen Sonya of Catree?"

Charmain had seen the name on the guest list, but wasn't sure why this was a problem for Sophie. She listened intently.

"She is a great friend to High Norland," said Princess Hilda. "Her unfortunate circumstances are not to be held against her."

"And what are these?" asked Flower-in-the-Night. "I am afraid in my travels I have not heard of this Queen Sonya." She folded her hands in her lap, waiting patiently for the answer.

"Catree's the next country over. You wouldn't have gone to it, they had no princess to steal and get returned," explained Sophie. "She's been marked for death."

Charmain's eyes widened.

"She has been marked for death for ten years," said Princess Hilda. "I do not expect Prince Peter's coming out will be the night her time runs out."

"When she went to Ingary for a diplomatic visit," said Sophie, "an assassin burst out of the cake. It was only Howl's quick thinking that turned the assassin into a toad."

"Then it is fortunate that Wizard Howl plans to come to our fete," said Hilda, effectively closing the subject of Queen Sonya.

"Where is Howl?" asked Charmain.

"He's off to see Wizard Norland. He took along Morgan, and I'm not sure why."

"Oh!" said Charmain and turned to Princess Hilda. "Great Uncle William left a sword in the library."

Princess Hilda tilted her head in a royally confused way. "But he has not been here today and there was no sword there this morning."

"Ah," said Charmain. "Excuse me."

She got up and bolted as politely as she could to the library. The table in the library was now definitely sword free.

Waif trotted along at Charmain's heels as Charmain tore around Great Uncle William's house. She was positive the sword was now somehow back in the house.

Waif whimpered. She did not like when Charmain was upset. Or moving too fast. Or reading her book instead of petting Waif. Or not feeding Waif.

In the living room, Great Uncle William, Wizard Howl, and Calcifer were testing Morgan's magical skills. Charmain wanted to join them and get the tea she'd missed out on at the castle, but the matter of the disappearing sword was nagging at her.

She opened a door and turned just right, to get to the bedrooms, one of the last regular places she hadn't checked yet. She glanced into Great Uncle William's bedroom, which was its normal state of vague disarray, although better than the disaster area it had been while he was ill, and finding it sword free she moved onto her own.

On her bed was the sword. Charmain glared at it.

"I don't know what you think you're doing," she said to it, "But I'm not having anything to do with it. It's an important night that we're planning and I'll not have you distracting me!"

The sword did nothing.

Charmain swallowed her uneasiness and reached out to grab the hilt firmly. A chill ran up her spine. It hadn't done that when they'd first found the sword.

"You're going right back to Great Uncle William's study," she scolded it. "And you're going to stay there."

She waved the sword in Waif's direction. "Isn't your job to stop evil things? This sword's up to something and I'd appreciate some help from my loving pet, you know."

Waif continued her behaviour of not acknowledging the sword's existence, which puzzled Charmain all the more. In response to Charmain's rantings, Waif sat herself down and wagged her wispy little tail, with her head tilted in confusion. Not once did her eyes even drift to the sword.

Charmain marched the sword to the study and set it down on the desk. "If you've got something to say or do, show Great Uncle William. I've not got time for it."

She turned on her heel and just out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a flicker of two eyes looking out at her from the blade of the sword.

She left the study quickly.

Charmain took her chance to take tea with the King the next morning when he invited her over during her break from setting up for the party. She loved her moments with him. Joining them was Flower-in-the-Night, as lovely on second viewing as the first.

Charmain, sensibly draping a napkin over her hand to eat her buttery scone, listened happily to the King talk about the guests for the evening. Waif was not present, as one litter of weird looking dogs had been enough, even if one had the valuable Elfgift, so the little white dog was on strict orders to stay away from the chef's dog.

"We are greatly looking forward to seeing our old friends," said the King. "With our new solvency, we can finally entertain once more."

Flower-in-the-Night sipped her tea and nodded. "Your most esteemed daughter was telling me you had been arranging precautions?"

"Oh yes," said the King. "Safety spells, food testing, the lot of it. We are sure our lubbockin problem is solved, but there is the matter of our dear friend Sonya. We used to go hunting with her in our youth, you know."

"Why is she threatened so?" asked Flower-in-the-Night.

"It all dates back to, well, a decade ago," the King sat back, brow creasing in thought. "She's unmarried, you know. Ruling the kingdom all on her own. Not like High Norland, women can rule there, such a difference than here! Why, our daughter Hilda could be queen if we followed that method, but it's not to be."

He continued on his story. "One day a prince appeared and declared it was no way for a kingdom to be and demanded she marry him."

"Very discourteous," said Flower-in-the-Night.

"I would have told him to get himself gone," said Charmain.

"And that's what she did! Rightfully so, I say," said the King. "But he wasn't having it and swore that he'd have her killed for treating him that way. There's been assassination attempts ever since. She's survived every one of them."

"Most fortunate," said Flower-in-the-Night. "And what happened to the most unlovable prince?"

"Well, that's where we're not clear," said the King. "He vanished right after. She tried to have him found, feeling that if she disposed of him the attempts would cease, but no hide nor hair has been found. On top of it all, at the same time a man she had been courting, Lord Ivan, disappeared totally. Our dear friend has faced much grief."

Charmain finished her scone and took a long sip of tea, trying to ignore the steadily growing nervous feeling in her stomach about the party.

"I really must introduce you to my husband," said Flower-in-the-Night to Charmain, startling Charmain out of her worries. "But the most flavourful cook has snuck him off every chance he's had. Abdullah, my husband, and he were friends before our marriage."

"Can he cook like Jamal?" asked Charmain.

"Not in the least," replied Flower-in-the-Night. "But he is fine company despite it."

Charmain sighed as she walked into the ballroom where the coming out would be held. Propped up in the corner was the sword again. She didn't have time to take it all the way back to the house, so she shoved it behind a curtain and hissed: "Stay there!"

Outside the long windows of the castle the Wizard Howl and Great Uncle William were striding about (Howl much swifter than Great Uncle William) as they laid down their charms to make sure the night went off without a murder or unexpected Lubbockin.

With Great Uncle William occupied, it had fallen to Charmain to organize the entertainment magic, such as singing vases, floating gossamer flowers, and other traditional High Norland decorations. Sophie was helping Charmain.

The ballroom had been decorated the normal way by the servants earlier in the day in a simple manner, for High Norland did once again have a royal treasury, it did not seem wise to spend it all at once. But pictures had been retrieved and placed back on the walls, and long sashes of lovely velvet hung from the ceiling. Against the far wall was the elaborate cuckoo clock the kobolds had made, kindly paid for by the King in payment for their help in discovering who had been stealing from the kingdom.

"So, that sword..." began Sophie.

"It's just bothering me," said Charmain. She realized she didn't feel scared of it anymore, that feeling had faded, leaving behind annoyance. "It's like a certain teenage boy I know, it just keeps showing up when I'm trying to do other things."

"I could try and send it away," said Sophie. Charmain considered it. Sophie's magic was nothing to sneeze at.

But, after that tempting thought, Charmain shook her head, dismissing the plan. "No, Great Uncle William wants to find out more about it. But if it **doesn't stay put**..." she finished menacingly, sure the sword could hear and understand.

Sophie laughed and held up one of the vases that Charmain had to enchant to sing the kingdom's anthem.

Charmain carefully recited the spell, dropping the prepared herbs inside, then replacing the flowers.

"Do you think everything will go okay?" she asked Sophie.

"Well, I hope so," said Sophie. "As long as the vases don't start spewing out fire."

"I mean about the assassins," said Charmain. She'd spent the night being woken up from dreams about the assassins targeting Queen Sonya hurting her instead, her friends, and at one point her favourite painting in the ballroom. Charmain had mourned that painting dearly in the dream. Waif had done her best to comfort and it was only through the little dog's cuddling that Charmain had gotten enough sleep to function.

"We've got a lot of protections," said Sophie. "Don't borrow trouble is the best advice I can give."

Princess Hilda arrived at the top of the stairs with Peter, showing him one more time how to walk down properly. Peter was, despite everyone's best attempts, still clumsy and prone to go left when he should go right.

"How about fireworks then, Charmain?" he said. Charmain glowered at him.

Despite Charmain's worries, the party seemed to be going off beautifully. She'd gotten a new dress worthy of a royal party and was sticking by Sophie and Flower-in-the-Night as the party progressed.

Charmain studied the faces of all the older women, trying to figure out which one was the doomed Queen Sonya. The most likely candidates, with worn faces and worry lines, had all turned out to be different women.

Sophie sipped her wine. "I have no idea who anyone here is either," she whispered to Charmain.

Flower-in-the-Night was introducing herself avidly to everyone, facilitating Sophie and Charmain's introductions to the guests. Finally they came up upon an impressive looking woman built like a rhino in luxurious furs and velvets, flanked by a man in armour, with his face hidden under a helmet.

Flower-in-the-Night bowed. "It pleases me to make your acquaintance. I am Flower-in-the-Night, Ambassador to Ingary."

The woman nodded regally. "Queen Sonya of Catree, my dear. And this," she jerked a hand back to point at the man in armour, "is my newest bodyguard, Vlad. Ignore him, he's earning his keep if he never does anything worthy of attention."

The man in the helmet nodded curtly.

"Don't mind him, he's not paid to talk," said Queen Sonya. "Is this little lady the wizard's apprentice?"

Charmain quickly curtsied.

"Impressive, High Norland. A wizard and an apprentice. I can't even keep just a wizard! Not enough hazard pay, they say," said Queen Sonya.

"I'm sorry," said Charmain, not sure what she should say.

"Not your fault, girl. But if you're looking for a job when you're done your training..." Queen Sonya hinted.

Charmain blinked, and had visions of fighting off paid killers every morning before breakfast.

"And you?" said Queen Sonya. She held out her hand to Sophie to shake. "Don't know your name yet."

"Sophie Pendragon," said Sophie as she took Queen Sonya's hand.

"Pleasure! Pleasure!" said Queen Sonya.

Vlad suddenly made a furious noise and stormed over to the far side of the room where the sword had managed to get itself out from behind the curtains. Charmain hurried after him--whatever the sword had just done, she felt responsible because she'd just left it behind a curtain instead of removing it from the room. That was, she realized, not what you were supposed to do with an enchanted sword. Probably.

"What's the meaning of this?" said Vlad, his voice muffled by the helmet. "You steal my sword!"

"We didn't steal anything! That's our sword," said Charmain. Close enough to the truth, she felt.

"It's been missing since I got here," growled Vlad. Then he stopped. He held the sword up to eye level, then coughed awkwardly.

Charmain looked at him, confused.

"I... apologize," said Vlad like he was forcing the words out. "This is not my sword. The stripes are on the wrong side." He indicated the tassel, then handed the sword back to Charmain. "You should get rid of this. Immediately. Melt it, if you can."

Charmain took it, a strong chill running up her back.

Just then, the anthem began. Peter had started his way down the steps too early and set the singing vases off.

Then the window on the left of the ballroom smashed and three men in dark clothes burst in through it, making a beeline for Queen Sonya.

Vlad cursed in a language Charmain didn't know and bolted to her.

The sword in Charmain's hand started vibrating so hard she had to let go. Now there were definitely eyes in the blade, and they looked furious. It zoomed forward, and even though Charmain's hand was no longer grasping the hilt, she was dragged along with it.

Vlad was fighting off the assassins with a sword he yanked off a suit of armour, while in the background men and women yelled and panicked. Queen Sonya merely stood there looking impassive, as if whatever happened, she would face it.

Flower-in-the-Night was _not_ one of the shrieking men and women, and she picked up one of the singing vases and sent it flying into the head of an assassin who got too close. Her husband Abdullah, whom Charmain had been introduced to before the party, cheered and clapped her on the arm.

Outside the castle was the sound of magical explosions. Wizard Howl and Great Uncle William were having their own problems. Charmain was the current highest ranking royal wizard on the scene.

The sword had dragged Charmain in front of Queen Sonya, facing away from her, and forced her arm into a battle pose. It was like she was wielding the sword, but it was three inches away from the palm of her hand.

When an assassin got past Vlad -- Charmain swore that Vlad had _stepped aside_ \-- the sword swung around and with the flat side, sent the assassin tumbling down, clutching its head.

"Good sword!" said Charmain.

That left just one, Charmain said to herself, when the assassin her sword had just hit surged up again.

"Oh no you don't," yelled Sophie. "You stay down! You're stuck!"

The assassin fell again and struggled against the floor like he was glued to it.

"Most impressive," said Queen Sonya. She had her hands folded in front of her dress, watching Vlad fight the last hired killer.

The sword would not let Charmain leave Queen Sonya's side. The reason for this became quickly evident when Vlad and the assassin turned _together_ to come after Queen Sonya. The sword, it seemed, had an alliance to the Queen and not preserving Charmain's good health.

"Finally," she heard Queen Sonya whisper.

Sophie was yelling spells, which took down the final assassin but seemed to bounce right off Vlad. Charmain, meanwhile, began panicking as she realized the sword was not going to let her get away from being right in Vlad's way. Not that she wanted to abandon Queen Sonya to die, she just would rather not die first.

"I've been waiting for you to show your true colours," said Queen Sonya.

"I'm tired of you escaping," said Vlad. "It's time you learned what it is to refuse me."

"You think I didn't recognize your voice, even after ten years?" said Queen Sonya. "It's foolish to assume I was ever on your level."

Vlad yelled and lunged for the queen, when four things happened.

One, Flower-in-the-Night had found another pot and thrown it.

Two, Peter had decided to help and filled the air with fog regardless of what he'd actually been trying.

Three, Sophie summoned the nearest sword not currently possessing Charmain's hand. Vlad's missing sword, the match to Charmain's, came flying through the air.

And four, Charmain's sword was dragging her forward to fight Vlad. Not to the death, Charmain hoped.

Shards of the vase got in through Vlad's helmet, causing him to stumble, and this time Charmain's sword wasn't using the flat side as it stabbed at his armour. Charmain could barely make out Vlad in the fog, just the barest outline. She heard, more than saw, the sword's final blow. The sword pulled her away and she was horrified to see it wasn't blood on the sword, but black sticky ooze that turned to smoke and vanished.

"You know," said Queen Sonya by Charmain's elbow. "Even if he hadn't been a demon, I still would have said no. I have no interest in pompous asses."

The fog was clearing and Charmain saw that Vlad had been hit twice. On the other side of the empty pile of armour was Sophie, linked to the matching sword the same way Charmain was to hers, with black smoke pouring off her blade as well.

Both swords began to hum, then flung themselves towards each other, fortunately not dragging Sophie and Charmain with them.

Flower-in-the-Night stepped over quickly to steady Charmain, while Abdullah helped Sophie.

The swords were whirling around each other, tassels wrapping, when there was a flash of light and a man landed on his feet, a sword with a tassel that had stripes on both sides falling beside him. He wasn't a young man, and he had a long nose like a blade.

Queen Sonya lost her poise. "IVAN!" she yelled, nearly barreling over Charmain and Flower-in-the-Night.

"Sonya!" the man yelled back, grabbing her around the waist and holding tight.

The last of the fog cleared away, aided by Wizard Norland and Wizard Howl who had managed to get back inside after dealing with their assaults.

"What's all this yelling about?" asked Howl, before Sophie tugged him away to help deal with the fallen assassins.

Sonya and Ivan were talking at high speeds. Charmain could only make out "he split me in two and threw me away" and "I heard your name when they were discussing guests, I had to come" and "I was ready to face him head on."

Charmain went to get a glass of wine. She felt she deserved it. And later, she'd have to yell at Peter for messing up his cue. She'd put _work_ into setting up the anthem vases.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally this story was meant to be a 'Things I Have Seen' sort of round-robin between the three women (Sophie, Flower-in-the-Night, and Charmain), but that wasn't working out. The only good line I got out of it was 'Charmain was worried that Princess Hilda was too royal to enjoy the game.'
> 
> And I happened to draw this while I was waiting for class to start one day:
> 
>  
> 
> Any resemblance to pokemon living or ghost-type is purely coincidental.
> 
> Here's the list of things that the women were have meant to have seen:
> 
>  


End file.
